Coaxial cables are available in the form of a ribbon with signal carrying cables and associated ground conductors organized as parallel strands all electronically insulated from one another. A connector at which such a cable is terminated is a fairly complicated structure adapted to connect the signal carrying cables and the associated ground conductors to respective terminals of the connector. The terminals reside in parallel channels in the connector body. Typically, the signal cables are connected to terminals on one face of the connector body portion and the associated ground conductors are connected to terminals on the other face.
The connector typically comprises first and second cover portions which mate with the body portion of the connector. The cover portions have internal configurations adapted to constrain the cables and ground conductors in the respective terminal channels, to further insulate the individual cables, to constrain the cable sheathing from movement, and to securely anchor the cables. The cover portions are also configured to mate with the body portion to form a sandwich defining a pin-receiving edge in which the cover portions and the body portion form an array of pin-receiving apertures.
Although coaxial cable connectors of the type described are in large scale use in industry today, attempts to reduce the size of connectors of this type have been limited by the physical demands of the terminating elements and insulating requirements of the structure. Yet the drive for increasingly smaller connectors is never ending, propelled not only by the reduction in size of electronic equipment but also by the desire to reduce materials and thus costs.